In addition, the New YorkPostpublished an email from a Cuomo campaign aide, who they chose to keep nameless, in which the aide pitches an article slamming Nixon for supporting the "insidious" BDS campaign. "The governor holds a lot more responsibility over the trains than he wants to admit", said Morgan Hargrove. And he increasingly made the race about pushing back against the policies of Trump and other Republicans in Washington. The lefty lion endorsed Nixon's progressive counterparts Jumaane Williams, who is running for lieutenant governor, and attorney general candidate Zephyr Teachout. This year he's spent millions on ads and, intentionally or not, moved to the left on issues such as legalizing marijuana, banning plastic bags, returning voting rights to former inmates and addressing conditions in New York City public housing.

While he may have won, Cuomo, a former US housing secretary and son of the late Gov. Mario Cuomo, did not escape the primary unscathed.

The victor takes on Republican Keith Wofford in the general election.

Cuomo himself snuffed out speculation that he might run for president in 2020, pledging in his only debate with Nixon that he would serve a full four-year term if re-elected this year.

The planned opening of the Governor Mario M. Cuomo bridge to replace the old Tappan Zee Bridge between Westchester and Rockland counties was supposed to bolster Cuomo's image as a can-do governor, but a last-minute delay changed that narrative. A Democratic Party mailer implied she was anti-Semitic, sparking a furious backlash but Cuomo pleaded innocent. It also states that Nixon is "against funding for yeshivas", supports "BDS, the racist, xenophobic campaign to boycott Israel" and has been "silent on the rise of anti-Semitism".

Another closely watched race is the four-way Democratic contest for attorney general.

The "Trainwreck" star has kicked in $10,000 to Nixon's gubernatorial campaign, but raised eyebrows on Tuesday when she announced she was backing Cuomo instead, saying she didn't believe her fellow actress "would know what the heck to do".